Hat-pouncing machine



(No' Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1..

R. EIGKEMEYEK Hat Pouncing Machine. No. 240,311. Patented April 19,1881

-PETFJS. PHQ'IO-LITHOGRAPMER, wAsmNaTON, D C

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2. R. EIOKEM.EYER.-

Hat Pounoing Ma.0h.i.ne.

No. 240,311. Patented April 19,1881.

W 7 Q I Y III'IVE'I'AVIDIH N. PETERS. PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. DQ

(No Model.) .4 She ets-Sheet 3.

3.. EIOK'EMEYER.. 'Hat Pouncing Machine. No. 240,311. Patented April19,1881.

' Witne N.PE|'ERS. PHOTOJJTHOGRAPNER, WASHINGTON. D c.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

R. EIGKBMEYER.

Hat Pounoing Mac-hin eL Patented April 19,1881.

Fi JB.

Witnesseslnventun UNITED STATES PATENT OFF-ICE.

RUDOLF EIGKEMEYER, OF YONKERS, NEW YORK.

HAT-POUNCING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 240,311, dated April19, 1881. Application filed January 18, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, RUnoLF EICKEMEYER,

of Yonkers, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Hat- Pouncing Machines;and I do hereby declare that the following specification, takeninconnection with the drawings furnished and forming a part of thesame, isa clear, true, and complete description of my invention.

My said improvements are founded upon certain prior inventions inpouncing-machines disclosed by me in Letters Patent No. 97,178, datedNovember 23, 1869; and the objects of my improvements are to attaingreater efficiency in the matter of rapidity in operation, coupled witha capacity to be operated properly with somewhat less skill ,in themanipulation of the hat on the part of the operator.

As in the machine shown in my Letters Patent No. 97,178, I employ, incombination with a pouncing-cylinder, a rest or sup iaorting-bed for thehat, which is mounted on a vertical horn in such a manner that a hatplaced thereon can be properly supported at its tip in working relationto the tmuncing-cylinder, thus enabling the hat crown or tip to bethoroughly pounced, as well as its side crown and brim. As animprovement in such a rest or pouncing-bed, I have provided therefor ayielding face-plate, between which and the cutting-surface of thepouncing-cylinder the hat is interposed; and in order that said yieldingfaceplate shall only be defiected by the compression of the hat byreason of its contact with the pouncing-cylinder, it is relieved fromsupporting the hat or resisting the draft of the feed by rigid andunyielding surfaces of the bed adjacent to and oneach side of saidface-plate. Such a yielding face-plate obviates liability of undulycutting a hat, and enables the latter to be more readily and rapidlymoved over the bed during the pouncing operation.

In machines heretofore devised by me I have provided for raising andlowering the pouncing-bed to and from the pouncing-cylinder, and in someof them a treadle-lever has been employed, but in such a manner that adirect and heavy pressure of the foot was required throughoutthepouncingoperation, and

' of foot-pressure.

therefore as the workman would change the position of his body thepressure so exerted would be more or less varied and unsteady, resulting in an irregular pressure as between the hat and pouncing-cylinder.

In my present machine I have provided for my treadle a bell-crank leverand suitable connections, by which the bed, when in proper position, issteadily maintained with a minimum In my said prior machines thesupporting-bed has been so mounted that it could be removed andreplaced, but in such a manner as involved considerable labor, and itwas therefore impracticable to provide a series of beds of various sizesto be used interchangeably, according to the sizes of hats to bepounced, as has subsequently proved to be desirable, and therefore in mypresent machine I have mounted the bed directly upon an auxiliarybed-lever and rigidly secured it thereto, preferably by means of ascrew, to admit of ready attachment and removal.

In the machine shown in my Letters Patent N 0. 97,178, the verticalsupporting bed or horn is integral with a vertical arm or lever, which,in turn, is mounted upon a horizontal lever; and adjacent to said hornthere are narrowfaced feed-rollers,which are rendered adj ustable intheir position with relation to the supporting-horn by means of ahand-lever connected with a vertical spindle, on which the feed-rollsare mounted; and in later Letters Patent, issued to me March 1' 1874,No. 148,680, I show a pouncing-bed mounted upon an inclined lever formoving it toward and from a pouncing-cylinder, and adjacent thereto is aset of conical feed-rolls, which are so mounted in a frame as to enablethem to be adjusted with relation to the pouncing-bed. In both of theseprior machines the adjustability of the feed-rolls enabled them to be soset from time to time as to adapt them to operate under certain varyingconditions; but the character of the adjustment in the two types ofmachines differed, in that the first method of adjustment was attainedby a swii elingmovement of the rolls, and in the second by a similarswiveling movement coupled with a, longitudinal movement in or near theplane of the bearing-surface of the supporting-bed. In

both of said prior types of machine one hand of the operator wasrequired to effect a change in the adjustment of the feed-rolls.

In my present machine, in order that the workman may be free at alltimes to use both hands in guiding the hat, and also to render thisguiding of the hat more easy and simple, the feed-rolls are mounted in asliding frame, and are controllable by the foot of the operator, so asto be moved longitudinally and parallel with the plane of thesupporting-bed, and thus variably adjusted during the pouncing of eachhat, so as to cause said rolls to draw upon thehat in various ways,according to whether the brim, the side crown, or the tip of the hat isfor the time being in contact with the pouncing-cylinder.

As compared with my 1869 machine, the present machine has the samecapacity so far as relates to pouncing a blocked hat all over, but is animprovement thereon in various ways, and especially in connection withthe mode of adjusting the feed-rolls and in enabling both hands of theoperator to be free in handling the hat.

My 1874 machine, as shown in my Letters Patent No. 148,680, could pounceunblocked or conical hat-bodies nearly all over, and the adjustment ofits rolls referred to was what might be properly termed a fixed or setadjustment, as distinguished from that variable adjustment, readily madeby the workman while pouncing a hat, as in my present machine.

In my 1869 machine the feed-rolls had narrow faces, and in my 1874machine the rolls were long and conical, but in practice had their outerends slightly rounded, so as to facilitate the guiding of the hat bylimiting their area of biting-contact therewith; and when my 1874machines have been so far modified as to pounce blocked hats thebiting-surface of the feed-rolls has always, in practice, been reducedto about the area of biting-surface indicated in my patent of 1869. Ihave therefore, in my present machine, embodied similar narrow-facedrollers with inclined faces-i 6., conical frusta and in order that thefull advantage of the elevated horn-bed may be attained, I have arrangedthe feed-rolls so that their axes or shafts do not unduly occupyspacebelow or adjacent to the horn, so as to interfere with the placingof a blocked hat in the variofis positions required for pouncing it allover.

The several features of my invention, after being fully described, willbe specified in detail at the close of this specification and while Iprefer to embody all of said features in one machine, I do not limitmyself thereto, because some of them may be profitably employed in otherorganizations, as hereinafter shown, and as will be further obvious topersons skilled in the art.

Referring to the drawings, of which there are four sheets, Figure 1,Sheet 1, is a side ele- .moved and others in horizontal section.

vation of a machine embodying all of my present improvements. Fig. 2,Sheet 2, is a plan view of the same with a few of its parts re- Fig. 3,Sheet 3, is a viewin vertical transverse section of a part of Fig. 2 online a. Fig. 4, Sheet 3, is a similar view on line c, Fig. 2. Fig. 5,Sheet 3, is a similar view on line w, Fig. 2. Fig. 6, Sheet 3, is afront view of jointed arms on which the'feed-roller boxes are mounted.Figs. 7 to 15, inclusive, Sheet 3, are various views of my improvedsupporting-bed and its parts detached. Fig. 16, Sheet 3, is a diagramillustrating in solid lines the position of a hat during the pouncing ofits brim or its side crown, and in dotted lines its position during thepouncing of its tip. Fig. 17, Sheet 4, is a partial plan and partialsectional view of a machine embodying certain features of my invention.Figs. 18 and 19 are detached views of brackets, which are portions ofthe sliding frame in which the feed-rolls are mounted. Figs. 20 and 21are respectively side and sectional views-of an upper feed-roll and itsdriver. Fig. 22 is a partial end view of the modified machine. Fig. 23is adiagram illustrating the relative positions of thepouncing-cylinder, horn-supporting bed, and feedrolls, with a hat incontact with the pouncingcylinder.

The machine shown on Sheets 1, 2, and 3 has a strong rigid frame, A, insuch form as to best accommodate the various moving parts. At its rearside, near the bottom, is the driving-shaft (1, provided with loose andfast pulleys, and a shipper controlled by a lever, a, which projectsforward and upward, so as to be conveniently accessible to the operativewhile at work.

The pouncing-cylinder B is firmly mounted, its shaft b being providedwith long boxes and belted, as at I), to a large pulley on the mainshaft.

As shown in my prior Letters Patent No. 97,178, I now employ asupporting-bed which is about the length of one-half the diameter of thehats to be pounced. I prefer that said bed be a trifle longer thanone-half of said diameter, and substantially such proportion is of somuch consequence that I prefer several sizes of beds, and to change themfrom time to time to correspond in a general way with the sizes of thehats to be pounced.

The supporting-bed Ois located beneath the pouncing-cylinder, and isshown detached in Figs. 7 to 15, inclusive, on Sheet 3. It has adownwardly-projecting stem, 0, through which a screw or bolt passes forrigidly securing it to an auxiliary bed-lever, d, hereinafter more fullydescribed. The upper end of said lever and the lower adjacent surface ofsaid bed are squared off to afford good bearing-contact, as seen in Fig.8.

Instead of employing the stem 0 and screwbolt as means for readilyconnecting the bed with the auxiliary bed-lever, the-latter may be 2opermitting it to rise and fall.

provided with a vertical mortise or socket and the bed with a tenonslightly tapered and well fitted to the mortise; but in such case themain bed-lever should have a downward movement 5 suflicient to admit ofthe vertical displacement of the bed-tenon from its socket.

In my Letters Patent No. 97,178 I show a roller-bed, which is, ofcourse, not integral with the auxiliary leveron Whichit is mounted,

to and, being a roller, it is not rigidly secured to and readilydetachable from said lever, as in my present machine.

The bed is recessed longitudinally and laterally on its upper surface toreceive the i novel yielding face-plate c, which has at one side atongue, 0 which extends laterally, with its end beneath a portion of thebed. It also has at each end rigid studs 0r screws 0 which secure theyielding face-plate to the bed while Beneath the yielding face-plate, ina recess provided therefor, is a curved or bow spring, 0 which, at eachend, bears against the under side of the face-plate, and istensionallyadjusted bya-setscrew, 0 tapped into a bridge afforded by aportion of the bed. These several parts are clearly illustrated in thedetail figures referred to. The yielding face-plate cushions thatportion of a hat which is in contact with the pouncing-cylinder, and thesurface of the bed,

on each side of said face-plate, supports the hat independently of saidplate, so that the downward pressure due to the draft on the hat by thefeed-rolls is borne by the two sides of the bed and not by the yieldingface-plate.

Yielding supporting-beds in pouncing-machines are not new, broadlyconsidered, because heretofore felt or other elastic material has beenemployed; but my bed, as improved by the yielding face-plate, not onlyaffords the yielding or cushioning effect, but it permits 'the hat topass smoothly over the bed without that undue straining frictionincident to drawing a hat over a felt-covered bed. Moreover,

the draft of the feed-rolls upon a hat passing over the yielding bed, asheretofore employed, has a tendency to compress the yielding covering onthe bed, and thus to draw the hat more or less away from properpressure-contact with the pouncing-cylinder.

\Vhile I prefer myimproved bed, my present machine will performsatisfactory work if the bed be covered with yielding material, or if itbe a plain solid bed, as shown in my Letters Patent No. 97,178.

Although I prefer that solid unyieldin g surfaces be provided on bothsides of the yielding face-plate, it is obvious that if such a surfacebe provided at one side only of said plate the latter will besubstantially relieved from the weight ofthe hat, and also from thedownward draft of the feed-rolls, especially if said solid surface be atthe side of the yielding plate nearest the feed-rolls.

The bed 0, instead of being a part integral with a lever, as heretofore,is, as before herein d which is tapped through the lower side of v thehollow main lever D, and has its end bearing against one side of thelong arm of lever d, opposite its cushion (P. This housing of thissupplemental lever and cushion within the main lever is a novel featureof importance, as it is thereby located wholly out of the way of a hatduring the operation of pouncing.

The main bed-lever l) is mounted angularly at the front of the machineand pivoted at its lower end to the frame at e, and it is adjustablylimited in its range of movement toward the pouncing-cylinder, asheretofore, by the adjusting set-screw e, tapped in a lug projectingfrom the frame, and serving with its lower end as a stop when engaged bya coincident lug, c projecting from the lever. In its downward movementthe lever D is limited by the bolt 6 which is tapped to the frame andoccupies a transverse slot in said lever. This supporting-bed lever islifted and lowered by a treadle, which, broadly considered, is not new;but I have so combined a treadle therewith that the pressure of the bedagainst a hat interposed between it and the pouncing-cylinder ismaintained mainly mechanically and with a minimum of pressure by thefoot, so as to attain a more steady and uniform pressure thanheretofore. This is accomplished by means of a treadle-lever, E, of thebell-crank order, and a rigid link, f, which connects thenearly-vertical arinf ofthe treadle-lever with the bed-lever D, theparts being so proportioned that when thetreadlc-leveris depressed bythefootand the bed fully elevated the short arm ofthe tread le-lcver andthe rigid link will occupy a line nearly vertical, thus not onlyaugmenting the power of the treadle-lever to respond to pressure of thefoot by reason of whatis in substance a togglejoint, but alsopractically self-maintaining the pressure at the fulcrum of thetreadle-lever, because the link-connection therewith occupies a positionnearly in a line with the treadle-lever fulcrum and the link-connectionwith the lever D. The weight of the main lever and the parts attachedthereto is usually 'ainplo to cause it to fall when the foot is removedfrom the treadle. I

The feed-rolls F are two in number, the lower being somewhat larger thanthe upper in this machine, and both are tapered. They have narrowworking-faces, so that they will bite upon a much narrower portion ofthe hat than is supported on the bed, as shown in my Letters Patent No.97,178.

The feed-roll spindles g and h have their bearings g and h connected toa sliding frame composed, in part, oftwo sliding rods, G, which extendfrom side to side of the machine, and have guide-bearings in the upperpart of the frame. As seen in Fig. 2, these spindles are set angularlyto the pouncing-cylinder shaft, so as to locate the feed-rolls closelyadjacent to the supporting-bed below the cylinder. As seen in Fig. 5,the boxes 9 and h of the two spindles g and h have solid arms or ears,which are hinged together at their ends at 9 and constitute ajoiutedpendent frame, as seen in Figs. 5 and 6, so as to permit the rolls to beseparated or controlled as to pressure. The roll-spindles arerotativ-ely connected by means of gears g and 7L2 and intermediatepinions, g and If, respectively mounted on studs projecting from thehinged ears or lugs on the spindle boxes. These spindleboxes and theirgearing are adj ustably suspended from a rectangular bracket, t, Fig. 3,which is rigidly secured to both of the sliding rods G. Theguidebearings of the rods G are parallel with the axis of the pouncingcylinder, and therefore, although the rolls move back and forth, theiraxes always occupy the same angle with relation to the axis of thepouncing-cylinder while moving in a line parallel with said axis. Thestrap -connections at 'i and the concave seat in the bracket 'i, Fig. 8,permit the tubular bearing of the upper roll to be axially adjusted,thereby providing for such a movement of the lower end of the pendentframe as will admit of the adjustment of the lower feed-roll nearer toor farther from the supporting bed or horn, as may be required.

Power is communicated to the feed-rolls by the shaft It, having at itsinner end the gear which meshes with a gear coupled to gear 9 on spindleg of the upper feed-roll. At the outer end of said shaft is a pulley,belted, as at 70 to a wider-faced pulley on main shaft a. The shaft Itis rigidly suspended from the sliding rods G by means of the tworectangular brackets or hangers 6 as seen in Figs. 2 and 4.

It will be obvious that the sliding rods G and the brackets or hangers iand i constitute a sliding frame, which supports the feed-rolls andtheir driving-sh aft. Formoving this frame to and fro for variablylocating the feed-rolls with relation to the pouncing-bed while pouncinga hat, a treadle and weight are employed. As seen in Figs. 1, 2, and 5,the treadle H, by rigid link 1, is connected to the lever m, which, atits outer end, supports weights m, and at its inner end is secured to arock-shaft, n, having at its opposite end, inside the frame of themachine, a vertical arm, n, which is pin-jointed to the bracket 41 ofthe sliding frame, so that pressure of the foot on treadle H moves thefeed-rolls forward, and arelease of said pressure permits the weights tomove them backward to their normal position.

Although I prefer to rely upon the weights or a spring to effect thebackward movement of the rolls, they may obviously be so arranged as toeifect the forward movement, in which case pressure upon the treadlewould effect the backward movement, the treadle-lever and link beingcorrespondingly modified in their arrangement; or the weights may beomitted and a lifting movement of the foot be relied upon for moving therolls backward.

The lower feed-roll is moved up or down, so as to cause it to press orbite with more or less force upon a hat in feeding, by means of a yoke,I, which is pivoted at its lower end to the box or bearing h, Fig. 1,and extends from thence upward to and over the bracket i, to which theupper feed-roll bearing is secured. The upper end of said yoke is tappedvertically to receive the adjusting thumb-screw 0, which takes hearingat its lower end upon a cushioned plate mounted upon top of the bracket1', and is provided with a set-nut, 0, as seen in Fig. 1. I have thusprovided for a yielding pressure between the two feed-rolls,substantially as shown in my prior Letters Patent No. 148,680.

The operation of the machine thus described is as follows: The machinebeing in motion, the treadle H is depressed to place the feedrolls fullyforward. The edge of a hat-brim is then inserted above the bed andbetween v the rolls, and when the rolls have full control over the hat.the treadle E is depressed to raise the supporting-bed and force thehat into contact with the pouncing-cyliuder. As the pouncing operationprogresses the treadle H is gradually permitted to rise for carrying thefeedrolls rearward, which causes the hat to run in successively smallercircles until the tip of the hat rests upon the bed and is fullypounced, after which the treadle H is again depressed, which causes thehat to move over the supporting-bed until its edge or brim is againbeneath the pouncing-cylinder, whereupon the bed is lowered and the hatremoved.

It has long been known that to pounce hats rapidly the cylinder shouldbe highly speeded and the hat independently fed or moved in a directionopposite to that in which the pouncing-surface moves, and that said feedshould be as rapid as is consistent with the proper operation of thepouncing-cylinder. The strain due to the grinding action of thepouncingcylinder can readily be borne by the hats with little liabilityof injury; but it is important that they be subjected to but littleadditional strain, and therefore, with my smooth bed, provided with asmooth yielding face-plate, and feed-rolls which properly co-operatetherewith, a hat can only be injured by the grossest carelessness on thepart of the operator, even when the machine is being operated at itshighest speed.

With the feed-rolls organized as already described it is difficult tolocate the bite of the rolls in the plane occupied by the surface of thebed, because of lack of space for the upper roll beneath thepouncing-eylinder and adjacent to the bed, and therefore the hat in theline of the feed (wherever the rolls may be in the line of theirlongitudinal movement) is drawn downward over the edge of the bed, asfully illustrated in Fig. 16, Sheet 3. Although the friction between hatand bed due to this downward draft on the hat does not prevent good andrapid work, it can be wholly avoided by a different. organization of thefeed-rolls, as illustrated on Sheet 4 but, because of the complicationtherein involved, I prefer the simpler arrangement already described.

Referring now to Figs. 17 to 23, inclusive, it is to be understood thatthe pouncing-cylinder B, elevated horn bed 0, and its treadle are or maybe as heretofore described. The 'slidin g frame, on which the feed-rollsare mounted, has thesame slidingrods G; but its brackets i and t are ofslightly different form, as shown in Figs. l7, 18, and 19, and saidframe is controlled by a treadle and weight, as already described.Instead of having tapered rolls of different size with axes in the samevertical plane, as in the machine described, I have in this machine twotapered rolls of the same size and placed side by side, with their axesin the same horizontal plane. The roll 10 is nearest to the bed and tothe pouncing-cylinder, and in order that its axis shall not be in theway of the hat, as when pouncing the tip, said roll is mounted upon astud, p, and has gearteeth at its small end, which mesh with other teethon the end of its driving-shaft 19 as seen in Figs. 20 and 21. The outerroll, q, is setalongside of but angularly to roll 19, as shown in Fig.17. The gearing for driving the rolls consists of a driving-shaft, k, asin the other machine, which, by its gear It, drives the pinions W, (on astud,) one of which meshes with the large gear k which, in turn, mesheswith the gear p on the end of driving-shaft 19 for driving the innerfeed-roll, p. Said large gear k which is mounted on a stud projectingfrom arm It, also oppositely meshes with the gear g on the end of shaft(1 on which the outer roll, q, is mounted, thus securing the requisiteopposite rotation of said-roll. With the feedrolls thus organized andarranged, the downward draft of the hat upon the supporting-bed iswholly obviated, for the upper surface of the inner roll, 10, canthereby be located in the plane of the supporting-surface of the bed, oreven a little above it, as clearly shown in the diagram Fig. 23.

. The rolls and gearing illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 17 are notintended to indicate that said rolls have any other than thelongitudinal movement due to the sliding of the frame but said dottedlines are employed to illustrate the method of gearing the inner roll,in connection with the illustration thereof contained in Fig. 22. Bothmethods of arranging the feed-rolls which I have described permit a hatto-rest with its tip flatly upon the surface of the bed, and in both theroll which occupies the interior of a hat is so arranged that its axisin no manner interferes with the placing of the hat in any desiredposition durin g the operation of pouncing it all over.

In operating with machines constructed as shown the position of thefeed-rolls need never be varied if brims only are to be pounced, and thesame is true with relation to verysmall hats; but in pouncing largewell-blocked hats the capacity for variable positions of the feedrollsis of great practical value.

Although I prefer that the rolls be moved in a line exactly parallelwith the axis of the pouncing-cylinder, as shown, I do not limit myselfthereto, because, if their movement be slightly oblique to said line,the results would be nearly as satisfactory.

The special arrangement of the supportingbed treadle herein describedmay obviously be applied to the machines shown in my Letters Patent Nos.97,178 and 148,680, and so, also, can a treadle and weight, or itsequivalent, be applied, in accordance with my present invention, toeither of said machines, to enable the operative to make changes in theposition of the feed-rolls from time to time bya motion of the foot andleave both hands free for the guiding manipulation of the hat.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new- 1. In a hat-pouncingmachine, the combination, substantially as hereinbefore described, offeed-rolls variably adjustable with relation to the pouncing-bed and atreadle for moving said rolls. 1

2. The combination, with a pouncing-roll and a supporting-bed, offeed-rolls mounted upon a sliding frame and a treadle for moving saidfeed-rolls, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a pouncing-roll and a supporting-bed, offeed-rolls mounted in a sliding frame, a treadle for moving said rollsin one direction, and weights or springs for returning said rolls totheir normal position, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with the elevated sup porting born or bed and mainbed-lever l), of the auxiliary bed-lever d and its cushion housed withinthe main lever, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with the auxiliary bedlever 61, of an elevatedflat-surfaced supportingbed, rigidly secured to but readily detachablefrom said lever, substantially as described, whereby said bed may beconveniently removed and another substituted for use in pouncing largeror smaller hats.

6.'The supporting-bed provided with the yielding face-plate and thesolid supportingsurface adjacent thereto, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with the bed, face-plate, and spring beneath theface-plate, of an adjusting-screw for varying the tension of the spring,substantially as described.

8. The combination, with the pouncing-cylinder and elevated supportingbed or horn, of

feed-rolls an gularly set with relation to the pounoing-cylinder shaft,and a sliding frame for supporting the feed-rolls, which is mounted inguides parallel with the pouncing-cylinder 5 shaft, substantially asdescribed.

9. The combination, with the pouncing-cylinder and the supporting-bedmounted upon a lever, of a bell-crank treadle-lever and a rigid linkconnecting the short arm of the treadlelever with the supporting-bedlever, substan- 1o tially as described, whereby the pressure of the bedtoward the pounein g-eylinder is mainly borne by the fulcrum of thetreadle-lever, and not by the foot of the operator, as set forth.

RUDOLF EIGKEMEYER. Witnesses:

RUD. EICKEMEYER, J n, TH. OSTERHELD.

